Ski slope and method for producing a ski slope

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a ski slope ( 10, 110, 210 ) created on sloping ground, said ski slope comprising two lateral edges ( 11, 12, 212 ) marked by edge marking means ( 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3 ). A slope direction ( 13.1, 13.2, 13.3 ) is defined by the edges of the slope ( 11, 12, 212 ) and the gradient of the ground. Between the two marked edges ( 11, 12, 212 ) of the slope, a first section ( 20, 120 ) is embodied as a prepared section ( 20, 120 ) of the slope and a second section ( 30, 130, 230 ) as a deliberately unprepared section ( 30, 130, 230 ) of the slope, the second section ( 30, 130, 230 ) being located next to the first section ( 20, 120 ) in terms of the direction ( 13.1, 13.2, 13.3 ) of the slope. The inventive slope ( 10, 110, 210 ) enables even experienced skiers to ski in a demanding but safe environment.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a ski slope and a method for producinga ski slope.

PRIOR ART

Since the advent of ski lifts, chairlifts, cable railways and otherpeople-conveying facilities (ski facilities) intended for the transportof skiers, which convey skiers up easily in a short time and thus makerepeated descents possible without arduous climbs on foot, what isreferred to as alpine skiing has enjoyed great popularity. In order tomake not only convenient transport up but also a safe descent back downon the skis possible for alpine skiers, what are referred to as skislopes, on which the skiers can ski safely down into the valley, arelaid out on sloping ground by the operators of the ski facilities.

The ski slopes made available to alpine skiers in touristicallydeveloped winter sports areas are as a rule prepared and safeguarded, asafeguarded ski slope being marked along the slope edges on both sidesand being checked from time to time (at least at the end of the day) by“slope patrollers”. Depending on the degree of difficulty, a ski slopeis marked as a blue (easy), red (of medium difficulty) or black(difficult) ski run.

Preparation (also referred to as leveling) of a ski slope is to beunderstood as dressing the snow in the region of the ski slope in such away that an even, smooth snow surface is produced, which is as free aspossible from holes, ribs and other irregularities, which constitutepotential danger spots in particular for inexperienced skiers. Nowadays,the preparation of ski slopes is usually carried out mechanically bymeans of rollers, blowers, rotary snowplows and other mechanicallydriven snow-dressing implements, which are attached to what are referredto as piste vehicles and are transported and also driven by these. TheSKUS (Swiss Commission for the Prevention of Accidents on SnowsportRuns) stipulates that all ski slopes marked blue, red or black have tobe prepared within three days of a snowfall.

An inexperienced alpine skier first learns to ski on ski slopes markedblue (easy). With increasing experience and correspondingly increasingskiing ability, he will in time be capable of skiing down over slopesmarked red (of medium difficulty) and black (difficult) as well. If askier seeks even greater skiing challenges, he will often venture intothe fresh snow (freeride country) outside safeguarded ski slopes or ontoski slopes marked yellow, which are neither prepared nor checked. Inunsafe guarded areas, however, the skier is exposed to considerablygreater dangers in the form of avalanches, concealed stones or treestumps and the like than on the safeguarded ski slopes. Skiing outsidesafeguarded ski slopes is therefore reserved only for very experiencedskiers or skier groups accompanied by a ski instructor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a ski slope which enableseven experienced skiers to ski in a demanding but safe environment.

The solution for achieving the object is defined by the features ofclaim 1. According to the invention, a ski slope laid out on slopingground comprises two lateral slope edges which are marked by edgemarking means. A slope direction is defined by the slope edges and thegradient of the ground. Between the two marked slope edges, a firstslope section is designed as a prepared slope section, and a secondslope section is designed as a deliberately unprepared slope section,the second slope section being arranged next to the first slope sectionin relation to the slope direction.

The slope direction is defined as a direction parallel to a center linebetween the two marked slope edges in the falling direction (in relationto the gradient of the ground), the line formed from the points lyingcentrally between the two slope edges being understood as the centerline. It corresponds essentially to the general direction of travel(also referred to as the general descent direction) of the skiers skiingover the ski slope into the valley and generally changes several timesalong the overall length of the slope. The second slope section isarranged essentially parallel next to the first slope section inrelation to the slope direction.

The edge marking means can comprise a plurality of marking poles, which,in a way which is conventional for marking slope edges, are arranged inpole rows running along the slope edges.

By virtue of a prepared slope section and an unprepared slope sectionbeing designed parallel next to one another within a checked slopeprovided with marked side edges, the skier is afforded the opportunityof alternatively skiing down over either the prepared slope section orthe unprepared slope section without having to leave the marked andchecked slope. The skier can try out and practice the technique ofskiing on unprepared, demanding ground on the unprepared slope sectionwithout having to forgo the safety of a checked and marked slope. He canpractice and learn in particular the techniques known as freeride skiingand mogul piste skiing without having to be exposed to excessive risksor having to infringe any bans with regard to skiing on ground notapproved for skiing. The ski slope according to the invention isattractive especially for those skiers who may already have masteredskiing on prepared ski slopes but do not have sufficient experience forsafe skiing outside safeguarded (i.e. marked at the edge and checked)slopes.

Compared with a normal, fully prepared slope, the ski slope according tothe invention has the further advantage that it affords the possibilityof slope preparation with smaller outlay as the area to be prepared ofthe ski slope is smaller because of course a section of the ski slopecan be left deliberately unprepared.

Since the ski slope also still has a prepared section parallel next tothe deliberately unprepared section, a less experienced skier can alsoski down over the ski slope at any time as he is not compelled to skidown over an unprepared slope section anywhere. He can at any time skiaround the unprepared section on the prepared section of the slope.

It is of course also possible for a number of deliberately unpreparedslope sections to be designed along the overall slope length, next towhich a prepared slope section is also designed in each case. By virtueof this, it is possible alternatively to ski down over a number ofunprepared slope sections one after another, or some or even all of theunprepared slope sections can be skied around via the prepared slopesections arranged next to the unprepared slope sections.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the boundarybetween the first slope section and the second slope section is markedby section boundary marking means. These section boundary marking meanscan be designed in a similar way to or the same way as the edge markingmeans and, for example, likewise comprise marking poles arranged inrows, as are usual for marking ski slope edges. However, the sectionboundary marking means are preferably designed so as to be visuallydistinguishable from the edge marking means, in order that every skierrecognizes immediately whether a pole row marks a slope edge or thesection boundary between the prepared slope section and the unpreparedslope section. For this purpose, the section boundary marking means cancomprise marking poles of a different color to the edge marking means,for example. It is furthermore advantageous to install in the uppermostregion of the first and second slope sections (i.e. in the entranceregion of these slope sections) one or more signs or other suitableindicating means, which indicate to the skier that the ski slope isprepared on one side of the section boundary marking means in thefollowing (first) slope section, while the ski slope is unprepared onthe other side of the section boundary marking means in the following(second) slope section.

The section boundary marking means are preferably designed in such a waythat, when required, they can quickly and easily be removed from the skislope and installed again in another location on the ski slope. Thisaffords the possibility of alternatively varying the extent in terms ofarea of the first slope section and the second slope section quickly andeasily by virtue of the section boundary marking means installed on theski slope being removed from their previous installation locations andinstalled on the ski slope again in new installation locations at adistance from the previous ones. Such section boundary marking means cancomprise marking poles, for example, which are quick and easy torelocate.

The boundary between the first, prepared slope section and the second,unprepared slope section is preferably designed in such a way that it ispassable in both directions for skiers. By virtue of this, theinhibition level for trying skiing on unprepared ground at least once islowered in particular for inexperienced skiers. Owing to the boundarywhich is passable in both directions, it is possible to change to andfro between the first slope section and the second slope section withoutdifficulty during the descent.

As an alternative to this, however, it is also possible to close theboundary between the first slope section and the second slope sectionoff for the skiers by barrier tapes, nets or other suitable barriermeans, for example, or to lay out the first and second sections in sucha way that natural barrier means such as trees, streams and the like,for example, form a boundary between the two sections at least in placeswhich is not passable for the skier. The skier must then decide at thestart of the slope region with the two slope sections lying next to oneanother to ski down either completely over the prepared first slopesection or completely over the unprepared second slope section.

The second slope section is preferably laid out on the inner side of acurve of the ski slope, while the first slope section is laid out on theouter side of the curve. It is known from experience that the ski slopeis used more frequently in the region of the inner side of the curvethan in the region of the outer side of the curve. Frequent use of thesecond, unprepared slope section is conducive to the desired formationof a mogul piste, which increases skiing enjoyment for the experiencedskier.

All obstacles not consisting of snow are preferably marked by obstaclemarking means in the second slope section. This improves the safety forskiers skiing down over this second, unprepared slope section. Allobstacles not consisting of snow are of course preferably marked byobstacle marking means in the remaining, prepared region of the skislope as well, as is generally normal and in some cases even stipulatedfor prepared and marked ski slopes.

The ski slope comprising the first, prepared slope section and thesecond, unprepared slope section may be an easy ski slope marked blueaccording to the relevant regulations. This affords skiers with littleexperience as well the opportunity of for once trying skiing onunprepared ground. The ski slope with the first slope section and thesecond slope section may also be a ski slope of medium difficulty markedred according to the relevant regulations in order to afford skiers withmoderate experience, who as a rule use ski slopes marked red, theopportunity of skiing on unprepared ground. In principle, the ski slopeaccording to the invention may of course also be a difficult ski slopemarked black, although in this case only experienced skiers who havemastered skiing on black ski runs may take advantage of the opportunityfor skiing on unprepared ground on a safeguarded ski slope.

A method for producing a ski slope according to the invention ischaracterized in that the first slope section is prepared regularly fromtime to time in a way which is known for the preparation of ski slopes,while the second slope section is left unprepared for at least a week.The second slope section can also be left unprepared for a number ofweeks and even for an entire skiing season.

The second, unprepared slope section is preferably designed in a regionof the ski slope which has been prepared in past years and is known tobe much frequented by skiers. Heavy use by skiers forms moguls in theunprepared slope section, so that in the end a mogul piste is created inthe unprepared slope region. Such a mogul piste increases skiingenjoyment for the experienced skier.

According to a further advantageous aspect of the invention, the ratioof the first slope section to the second slope section in terms of areais varied at the start of a season period depending on the expectednumber of skiers on the ski slope for this season period. So, forexample, at the start of a season period with a skier number estimatedto be low, the area of the second slope section can be enlarged, and thearea of the first slope section can be reduced. By virtue of this, theoutlay necessary for slope preparation can be reduced, as the overallarea to be prepared of the ski slope is reduced. If section boundarymarking means mark the boundary between the first slope section and thesecond slope section, it is merely necessary for this purpose to movethe section boundary marking means into the until then prepared firstslope section and then to leave the entire enlarged second slope sectionunprepared. On the other hand, at the start of a season period with askier number estimated to be high, the area of the second slope sectioncan be reduced, and the area of the first slope section can be enlarged,in order to make sufficient room for a large number of inexperiencedskiers on the prepared slope section. If section boundary marking meansmark the boundary between the first slope section and the second slopesection, it is merely necessary for this purpose to move the sectionboundary marking means into the until then unprepared second slopesection and then to prepare the entire enlarged first slope section.

A further possibility for enlarging the area of the unprepared secondslope section consists in merely moving the edge marking means markingthe slope edge of this unprepared slope section away from the slopecenter toward the outside, so that not only the second slope section butalso the ski slope overall is widened. In this case, the outlay forslope preparation remains the same, because the overall area of theprepared slope sections is not changed.

Further advantageous embodiments and feature combinations of theinvention emerge from the following detailed description and the patentclaims as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings used to explain the illustrative embodiment show:

FIG. 1 a simplified, diagrammatic partial plan view of a section ofground with a ski slope according to a first preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 the section of ground from FIG. 1 with a ski slope according to asecond preferred embodiment of the invention in a partial viewcorresponding to FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 the section of ground from FIG. 1 with a ski slope according to athird preferred embodiment of the invention in a partial viewcorresponding to FIG. 1.

In principle, the same parts are provided with the same referencenumbers in the figures.

Ways of embodying the invention

FIG. 1 shows a simplified, diagrammatic partial view of the plan of aninclined section of ground, in which a ski slope 10 is laid out. Thesection of ground is inclined as a slope which falls from the top (inrelation to the illustration in FIG. 1) to the bottom.

The ski slope 10 comprises two lateral slope edges 11, 12 (illustratedby solid lines in FIG. 1), which are marked by edge marking means in theform of marking poles 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3. A slopedirection 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, which is illustrated by means of the arrows13.1, 13.2, 13.3 in FIG. 1, is defined by the slope edges 11, 12 and thegradient of the ground. The region illustrated in FIG. 1 of the skislope 10 forms a curve in such a way that a skier entering this sloperegion at the location A and leaving this slope region at the location Boverall executes a right curve from the point of view of the skier.

Between the two marked slope edges 11, 12, a first slope section 20 isdesigned as a prepared slope section 20, and a second slope section 30is designed as a deliberately unprepared slope section 30. The edges ofthe first slope section 20 and of the second slope section 30 areillustrated by broken lines in FIG. 1. The second slope section 30 isnext to the first slope section 20 in relation to the slope directionillustrated by the arrow 13.2, the second slope section 30 beingarranged in the inner region of the curve formed by the ski slope 10,and the first slope section 10 being arranged in the outer region ofthis curve.

The boundary between the first slope section 20 and the second slopesection 30 is marked by section boundary marking means in the form ofmarking poles 15.1, 15.2, 15.3. The marking poles 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 ofthe section boundary marking means are distinguished by their color fromthe marking poles 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3 of the edge markingmeans; otherwise they are designed identically to the latter.

To produce the ski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the marking poles11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3 of the edge marking means and themarking poles 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 of the section boundary marking means arefirst inserted into the snow in the locations intended for them. Then,the first slope section 20 and all other slope sections of the ski slope10 with the exception of the second slope section 30 are mechanicallyprepared regularly from time to time in a way which is known forpreparation of ski slopes, while the second slope section 30 is leftentirely unprepared. More and more moguls are formed by the descents ofa large number of skiers over the second slope section 30, so that amogul piste is formed in time in the second slope section 30.

The ski slope 110 illustrated in FIG. 2 differs from the ski slope 10illustrated in FIG. 1 only in that the marking poles 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 ofthe section boundary marking means are moved toward the outside of thecurve, so that the first slope section 120 of the ski slope 110illustrated in FIG. 2 occupies a smaller area overall than the firstslope section 20 of the ski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, while thesecond slope section 130 of the ski slope 110 illustrated in FIG. 2occupies a larger area overall than the second slope section 30 of theski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1.

In order to produce the ski slope 110 illustrated in FIG. 2 startingfrom the ski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the marking poles 15.1,15.2, 15.3 of the section boundary marking means are simply moved intothe previously prepared first slope section 20, and then the entireenlarged second slope section 130 is left unprepared.

The ski slope 210 illustrated in FIG. 3 differs from the ski slope 10illustrated in FIG. 1 only in that the slope edge 212 on the inner sideof the curve and the marking poles 12.2, 12.3 which mark this slope edgeare arranged further away from the marking poles 15.1, 15.2, 15.3 of thesection boundary marking means, so that the ski slope 210 illustrated inFIG. 3 overall and its unprepared second slope section 230 are widerthan the ski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 and its second slope section30. On the other hand, the first, prepared slope section 20 of the skislope 210 illustrated in FIG. 3 is identical to the first, preparedslope section 20 of the ski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1.

In order to produce the ski slope 210 illustrated in FIG. 3 startingfrom the ski slope 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, the slope edge 12 on theinner side of the curve of the ski slope 10 and the marking poles 12.2,12.3 which mark this edge are simply moved away from the marking poles15.1, 15.2, 15.3 of the section boundary marking means, and then theentire enlarged second slope section 230 is left unprepared.

To sum up, it can be stated that the invention provides a ski slopewhich enables even experienced skiers to ski in a demanding but safeenvironment.

1. A ski slope (10, 110, 210) laid out on sloping ground with twolateral slope edges (11, 12,212) which are marked by edge marking means(11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3), a slope direction (13.1, 13.2,13.3) being defined by the slope edges (11, 12, 212) and the gradient ofthe ground, characterized in that, between the marked slope edges (11,12, 212), a first slope section (20, 120) is designed as a preparedslope section (20, 120), and a second slope section (30, 130, 230) isdesigned as a deliberately unprepared slope section (30, 130, 230), thesecond slope section (30, 130, 230) being arranged next to the firstslope section (20, 120) in relation to the slope direction (13.1, 13.2,13.3).
 2. The ski slope (10, 110, 210) as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the boundary between the first slope section (20,120) and the second slope section (30, 130, 230) is marked by sectionboundary marking means (15.1, 15.2, 15.3).
 3. The ski slope (10, 110,210) as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the section boundarymarking means (15.1, 15.2, 15.3) are designed in such a way that, whenrequired, they can quickly and easily be removed from the ski slope (10,110, 210) and installed again in another location on the ski slope (10,110, 210).
 4. The ski slope (10, 110, 210) as claimed in one of claims 1to 3, characterized in that the boundary between the first slope section(20, 120) and the second slope section (30, 130, 230) is designed to bepassable in both directions for skiers.
 5. The ski slope (10, 110, 210)as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the second slope section(30, 130, 230) is arranged on an inner side of a curve of the ski slope(10).
 6. The ski slope (10, 110, 210) as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that all obstacles not consisting of snow are marked byobstacle marking means in the second slope section (30, 130, 230). 7.The ski slope (10, 110, 210) as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat the ski slope is an easy ski slope or a ski slope of mediumdifficulty.
 8. A method for producing a ski slope (10, 110, 210) asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first slope section (20,120) is prepared regularly, while the second slope section (30, 130,230) is left deliberately unprepared for at least a week.
 9. The methodas claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the second slope section(30, 130, 230) is designed in a region of the ski slope (10, 110, 210)which has been prepared in past years and is known from experience to bemuch frequented by skiers.
 10. The method as claimed in 8 or 9,characterized in that the ratio of the first slope section (20, 120) tothe second slope section (30, 130, 230) in terms of area is varied atthe start of a season period depending on the expected number of skierson the ski slope (10, 110, 210) of this season period.